Mantjtactube of seamless pelt wearing-apparel



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEErcE.

SAMUEL M. PERKINS, OF SPRINGFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA.

MANFACTURE 0F SEAMLESS FELT WEARING'r-APPAREL, &c.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 9,557, dated January 25, 1853.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL M. PERKINS, of Springfield, Bradford county, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful art for the manufacture of coats, vests, pantaloons, and other articles of wearingapparel directly from the batting as it comes from a carding-machine Without spinning, weaving, and dressing the same into cloth or the cutting Aand sewing operations of the tailor; and I hereby declare the following to be a full and clear description of the same.

The nature of my invention consists in forming the bat as it comes from a carding machine on suitable rollers or formers, for the article desired to be made, and size of the article; which when formed of suiiicient weight, the roller and bat on it, is removed from the machine, and the bat slipped off the roller. The bat is then formed or shaped for the coat or other article, by tearing out portions of it for the arm holes and for the contractions of the neck and shoulders; and the arm pieces of batting, by being torn diagonally across the middle of it, so that the two arm pieces of the batting may be joined to the arm holes of the body of the coat, so as to have the natural downward inclination of the arms. When having thus prepared the batting the arm pieces are tacked to the body by a few loose stitches of silk, cotton or linen thread; and the edges of the contractions for the neck and shoulders, are also loosely tacked together by stitches. The batting coat is now shrunk by a process analogous to the ordinary felting process, and when shrunk suiiiciently, is taken out, and applied to a coat block, for shaping it, and there allowed to remain till dry, and is then ready for trimming and dressing as the taste and fancy of the wearer may dictate, the coat being completely formed without a seam in it, as the edges where joined by the tacking stitches, have been firmly united, and as the silk, or cotton or linen thread does not shrink with the wool, they are readily picked out when the article comes out of the shrinking process. But to describe my invention more particularly I will refer to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this schedule the same letters of reference wherever they occur refer ring to the same parts.

Figure 1, is a view of the front of one of the coats made by the art, herein described. Fig. 2, is a view of the back, of the same. Fig. 3, is a view of the side of the same, having the collar turned up, and by the dotted line showing the fold of the collar. Fig. 4, is a view of the batting for the arms, as made on the machine and showing by the red line diagonally across it the line for separat-ing it to form the two arms. Fig. 5, is a view of the batting for the body of the coat as formed from the carding machine, and showing by the dotted lines c, c the points for the arm holes, D, D the shoulder pieces, and E, E the gore piece taken out to contract the neck and collar. Fig. `6, is a view of the batting for the body of the coat, as shaped for the coat. Figs. 7 and 8, are views of the two arms represented at each side of the coat body, and by dotted lines, the position for joining them to the body. Fig. 9, is a view of the batting as shaped and tacked together to form the coat as indicated by the red stitches for the arms, shoulders, and gore.

Letter A, is the body of the coat, composed of wool or other brous material that will form felt. This body is formed on a roller, which receives the wool or other felting material as it comes from the carding machine, and which may be made of sufficient length to form two batting bodies like B, by cutting them in two at the middle. When these bodies have been formed the operator removes them from the forming rollers, and tears out pieces c, c, in the sides of them for the arm holes, and pieces D, D, for the shoulders; and gore pieces E, E, for the contractions for the neck and collar. When thus shaped the arm pieces F, F are attached to the bodies at the arm holes c, 0, by means of loose stitches, with silk or cotton or linen thread, as represented by the red stitches, g, g, g, g, g, in Fig. 9. In using thread for stitching I have discovered that woolen yarn or thread, will not answer as the fiber of the yarn shrinks with the felting process, and in consequence thereof a seam or ridge would be formed wherever edges were united with it. With the use of silk or cotton or linen, or other non-shrinking thread, for joining the edges of batting for forming felt wearing apparel, this difliculty does not occur, but the wool or other felting material used, shrinking from them, readily admits of their being drawn out without injury to the felt. I therefore consider this an essential feature in my art of making felt Wearing apparel.

Letter G, is the batting for the arms, formed on a forming roller as it comes from the carding machine. It is made tapering toward each end from the middle, for the purpose of making the Wrist of the sleeve proportioned to the shoulder.

Letter I-I, H, represents a red line drawn diago-nally across the batt-ing for the arm, to show the tear for separating the two arms, so as to give the proper downward inclination to the arms When attached to the coat body.

Letter J, is the collar of the coat as turned down in Figs. 1 and 2, and turned up as F ig. 3, and which is formed by turning down the upper or neck end of the coat, When in the stretching and blocking process for shaping and dressing the coat after it has come out of the shrinking or felting process.

It Will readily be perceived that by my art I can make a vest, by leaving out the arms, as is shown in Fig. 6. And by tearing out pieces from Fig. 5, as represented by the red dotted lines L L, and L L, and joining on leg pieces in the same manner as arm pieces are joined on to the coat, I can make also pantaloons. Other articles of Wearing apparel such as mittens, gloves, &c., are made in a like manner by joining thumb and iin-l ger pieces to the body or hand part, and therefore I do not intend to limit myself to the precise articles herein mentioned, as other articles, as may readily be seen, may be made by my art of forming and joining the edges of Wool batting or other iibrous material suitable for felting purposes, together for garments and Wearing apparel.

Having described my invention I Will proceed to state What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States.

hat I claim and desire to secure by Let-V ters Patent is- The art or method, as described, of making seamless felt articles of use and Wearing apparel, by giving the batting of Wool or fur the desired shape, and uniting its edges Where required, with silk, or any other nonshrinking equivalent, or by such shrinking threads or fibers as Will resume their original state when dry substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

I do not claim the mode of carding or preparing the batting as that is Well known long before my invention-nor do I claim the shrinking or felting process, as that has also been Well known.

SAML. M. PERKINS.

Witnesses D. W. GITCHELL, S. O. WHEELER. 

